DOT Frozen Road Law Changed For Northern Haulers

Though temperatures have been cold, it's still several days before Wisconsin's Frozen Road Law will kick in. That word from the D.O.T.... but a new way of looking at hat roads are covered under the law has been announced.

The D.O.T.'s Mike Sproul says they've worked with the trucking industry to establish new boundaries for four of the state’s five frost zones....

"....the zones were traditionally along highways that people were familiar with. We've changed them to be more along witht the weather trends, so the benefit will be that we should have longer frozen periods for the northern zones and shorter spring thaw periods which should help them some more...."

The law allows haulers with at least five axles to raise top weight limits to 98,000 pounds from 80,000 pounds. Experts says the frozen roads allow from heavier loads without excessively damaging pavement. Sproul says while the weather has been cold, it hasn't been around long enough to get the frost deep enough...

"....I just got some frost tube readings(from the north Thursday) and there's only seven to nine inches of frost under the pavement now. It's going to be awhile longer...we need another good week of good cold temperatures below the 18 inch mark...."

The forest products industry and haulers of salt and sand are greatly affected by the law. More information is on the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website.